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Who REALLY Increased the Debt?

This chart, published by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's office, has made the rounds online recently, particularly on social networking websites.

However, is this chart really telling the whole story? After all, the House of Representatives proposes and ultimately controls federal spending, not the president. So, why would Pelosi's office put out a chart based around the presidents?

Obviously, it downplays the skyrocketing debt during President Obama’s term relative to other presidencies. The chart does not even mention that at the time of publication, the president had only been in office for two years, compared to eight years for Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. More importantly, the chart also disguises the fact that massive spikes in debt creation usually came while Democrats controlled the House. Here’s the reality:

This chart is structured like Pelosi's chart. The major difference is that we’ve highlighted Congress since 1981, instead of the presidency. Of those sixteen Congresses, Democrats controlled the House nine times while Republicans controlled it seven times. While in power, the Democrats dramatically outspent the Republicans. The 471% increase in the debt during 18 years of Democratic control is staggeringly more than the 105% increase during 14 years of Republican control.

Consider the contrasting stories told by these two charts. Pelosi's office is telling a fairy tale that places the blame for an exploding debt squarely on Republican presidents, especially Reagan and George W. Bush. However, reality provides a very different account: It was Democrats controlling the House that swelled the debt. Presidents don’t hold the “purse-strings” of government, only the veto power. Nancy Pelosi’s chart is simply deceptive.

Undoubtedly, many readers will correctly argue that both percentages are far too large and that both parties are to blame for profligate spending in Washington. It’s helpful to look at each individual Congress. It reveals that overspending is indeed a bipartisan problem, particularly during the last ten years.

The stunning rise in the national debt since 2000 occurred under both Republican and Democratic leadership in the House and the presidency. Neither party can claim a spotless record with regard to deficit spending and debt creation. Still, the degree to which the Democrats in Congress under President Obama’s leadership have engaged in both of these practices is frightening. The federal government will default on its debts if the public does not force those in power to cut back spending.

The chart put out by Nancy Pelosi's office is not only misleading in its attempt to shift away blame, it also misses the larger point. Our focus must be aimed directly at addressing the debt in a serious and lasting manner. The grassroots-generated Tea Party Budget is a realistic, significant effort to accomplish just that by cutting spending by $9.7 trillion dollars over the next ten years and balancing the budget in four years.

If you would like to learn more about the Tea Party Budget, here is the link.

. The answer, however, is simple. Not easy, but simple. The solution is for a critical mass of people to unite in one voice to compel the U.S. Government to fully respect and obey, word for word, the canons of The Declaration of Independence and its dovetail legal document The Constitution, per the definition of the terms “General Welfare”, “Regulate” in the commerce clause and the “as necessary and proper” clause as legally defined in documentation as penned by the hands of the Founding Fathers <a href="http://www.writers-write.co.uk/statistics-help.php">statics Help UK</a> || <a href="http://www.writers-write.co.uk/university-essays.php">example of university essays</a>

You know the Democrats are not serious about reducing the debt or raising taxes when Kay Hagan (D) put forth the "Computer Professionals Update Act" which denies I.T. Workers Overtime pay and therefore reducing the amount of taxes paid to the treasury. Every move these politicians make do nothing but harm this country more.

I am truly sorry but Budget Cuts are a fool’s errand; the ultimate PIPE DREAM!
“Budget Cuts” are nothing more than giving the tyrants and usurpers the power to choose the cronies and the losers. They are, therefore, politically impossible! The losers, such as the two worst ILLEGAL unsustainable Ponzi schemes of Socialist Security and Medi-scare, for just two examples amongst thousands, won’t stand for it. These two special interest groups have long been played the patsy and been crony favorites of politicians seeking to keep their cushy $174,000.00 jobs with stock market, health care, pension and numerous perks up the wazoo.
The answer, however, is simple. Not easy, but simple. The solution is for a critical mass of people to unite in one voice to compel the U.S. Government to fully respect and obey, word for word, the canons of The Declaration of Independence and its dovetail legal document The Constitution, per the definition of the terms “General Welfare”, “Regulate” in the commerce clause and the “as necessary and proper” clause as legally defined in documentation as penned by the hands of the Founding Fathers, such as Federalist #41 as just one of many examples. All three of these terms legally mean, in spirit and intent well documented, the opposite of what we have been led to believe by tyrants and usurpers in all three branches of the contemptuous Federal Government, starting in the 1800s already, such as the infamous so called “elastic clause” of 1824 by the “Midnight Judges” of John Adams who turned against his own beliefs with regards to freedom, liberty and individual Rights and the reason for the termination of the friendship between him and Thomas Jefferson. He himself called for “THE RULE OF LAW, NOT MEN”, but once drunk on power over people his “fallen nature” of man overcame him as happens with so many well meaning freshmen who are “co-opted” as Republican Trent Lott has stated about what they were going to do with the TEA Party freshmen.
So I would recommend that we get a critical mass of Americans to read and understand our two founding documents of LAW and compel the U.S. Government to obey them as We The People have ordained and established these Laws ON THEM to secure the Blessings of Liberty for ourselves and our Posterity (http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Preamble); especially but not limited to the EIGHTEEN ONLY enumerated powers clauses of Article I Section 8 (http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#A1Sec8) pursuant to the 9th and 10th Amendments (http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am9), as well as the money clauses of Article I Sections 8 and especially 10 (http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#A1Sec10) pursuant to the Supremacy clause of Article VI para. 2. (http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Article6)
Now if the Federal Government is compelled BY THE RULE OF LAW, NOT MEN to obey The Constitution, word for word, per the definition of terms by The Founding Fathers, and so they are only allowed to do eighteen enumerated things plus the military and the courts, than what do they need all of the money that they don’t get from us in income taxes? According to the 1916 Supreme Court the 1913 ratification (of the NON-ratified) 16th Amendment (disingenuously tallied by the despicable Secretary of State Philander Knox under the tutelage of Socialist-in-Chief Woodrow Wilson, the apportionment clause of tax on direct labor is still in full force and affect, in that it was stated that anybody who wasn’t taxable before the 16th Amendment isn’t taxable after it. Okay, now think about this - - - if all of those Trillions are left on our paychecks and in our economy and, they are “real” money for a change, not “Federal Reserve NOTES” which are “NOTES” (nothing more than “the promise to pay” with “real” money at some point in the future or upon redemption by the bearer, in our contemporary case backed by almost totally NOTHING to redeem and thus nothing more than the ghost of money as stated by Thomas Jefferson and thus subject to total collapse in hyperinflation), then think how fast our country could grow in the ether of Freedom and individual Rights and security of our property from them. Additionally and most importantly our fellow countrymen would worship and pray to our Creator for our needs not The Federal Government, the Almighty Lord who delivered our world Super Power Colonial Government into our pitchfork and musket holding hands, surely by His Grace alone. With the Law of Righteousness and Divine Providence on our side, my dear fellow countrymen, I ask, how can we loose?
Forget the Pipe Dream of “Budget Cuts” forget about the election, this job is far too important for our “servants” and let’s get down to work on our knees to our long awaiting God and seek His assistance to compel our Government to obey The Law and roll up our sleeves and do our duty to our God and our country.:http://youtu.be/-7Y1ougODMo

Last night, in a last ditch effort to avoid the "fiscal cliff" the House passed a bill that sought to prevent tax hikes for all but the top 2% of American workers. Taking a short break from his Hawaiian vacation, President Obama stopped by the White House to pat everyone on the back for bowing to his will. His speech should be laughable considering it followed a bill that is a joke, however, anyone that knows the details of the deal that was passed (with the help of 85 soon-to-be out of a job Republicans) certainly are not laughing.

As we approach the inevitability of the fiscal cliff, taxpayers are understandably concerned. How much more will I have to pay in taxes? Will the the economy worsen? What will the spending cuts mean for my family? What surprises await for personal and business taxes and regulations in 2013?First, the new taxes. Personal income taxes will be going up for everyone. As reported today by The Right Scoop,

$150 million for Alaskan fisheries, $2 million to the Smithsonian to repair roofs and $8 million to Homeland Security and the Justice Department to buy cars. And that's just the start. No, this is not Stimulus Part 2, this is the Hurricane Sandy Relief Bill, rightfully dubbed the "Sandy Scam." As Matt Kibbe pointed out earlier, the Sandy Scam Bill whose total price tag is $60.4 billion, also contains:

What should Congress do on the Fiscal Cliff? 1) Lock in $1.2 trillion in ten-year sequester savings. 2) Extend ALL current tax rates for one year. 3) Reform taxes and entitlements to avert another debt downgrade. Questions?
P.S. From now on, every debt ceiling increase should be offset by an equivalent amount of spending reductions, in the same bill. No more kicking the can down the road!
That is all.

I’m trying to help a relative get out of a bad fix.He makes $50,000 a year, but Sam has $54,000 (!) of debt on his credit cards. Worse still, he just showed us plans for a $7,500 cruise next year. “Don’t sweat it,” he said, “I still have room on my Visa!” Crazy, right?

Since the senate democrats last passed a budget, the American government has accrued $5 trillion dollars in new debt. The last budget was passed three and a half years ago and, in that time, our debt has risen from $11.2 trillion to $16.2. That is a terrifying benchmark.

As I have previously pointed out, if you can successfully divorce the cool persona from the words he speaks, President Obama plainly and often tells us exactly what he thinks, believes and intends. And when you listen to or read the words he says, it becomes abundantly clear that he is dedicated to a big government solution for every problem - whether real or imaginary.

September 10th, 2012 is National Deficit Day. That means that September 10th is the date on which the United States government is out of money for the year. Every single penny they spend for the rest of the year, explain economists James Harrington and Antony Davies, will be added to our debt. Deficit Day should ideally be on January 31st.

Dear Senator,
We are deeply concerned that Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) is prepared to exceed the overall spending limit set out in the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA). In the absence of the Senate adopting a budget for fiscal year (FY) 2013, the BCA requires the Senate Budget Committee Chairman to establish spending limit in line with the March 2012 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baseline.